Mercenary Guide
:This page aims to provide '''generalized' info about using mercenaries. Please see the Related Topics section near the bottom of this page for links to pages with more detailed info.'' Overview Mercenaries (a.k.a "mercs") are NPCs for hire. When you hire or summon a mercenary it takes up a group slot and you must "pay" them with in-game currency (gold, plat etc.) every 30 minutes they aid you. In order to hire a mercenary meet at least one of the following conditions: *Own the Age of Discovery expansion (having purchased when it was a new release). *Own the Kunark Ascending expansion, which also allows the mercenaries to be trained and equipped with stat gear. :*Owing any current expansion will also unlock these features. *Those who prefer Free-To-Play access can unlock Feature: Mercenaries via the Marketplace at a cost of 1500DC. Important Changes Since their introduction, some important changes have been made to mercenaries. Players may want to note the following major changes to their functions: *In 2020: with the release of Blood of Luclin when a player gains level 111, Mercenaries, regardless of their current training level, seem to have become Salary: FREE. *In 2016: Mercenaries don't have any initial hiring fees *In 2013: Mercenaries don't steal experience for kills *In 2013: Mercenaries don't take a split of the coin in a group How to Obtain There are essentially four ways to obtain mercenaries. *By finding one standing around out in the world in several zones. If you see one mercenary hanging around, there's likely more nearby. *By looting a contract from an enemy, most often in difficult dungeons or raid zones, but also during various live events (e.g. during Tinkerfest) *By purchasing contracts from the Marketplace and visiting Rogues Gallery. The Mercenary Crates page gives detailed info for more about obtaining this type, even if you are buying a single mercenary. *By unlocking them after finishing a quest series or achievement (e.g. Skyshrine mercs) Membership Perk Players who have a paid membership are granted a choice of Daybreak Cash or a freebie Mercenary Crate once a month. Getting this freebie is just like buying the current offerings from the Marketplace. See the Mercenary Crates page for details on how unpacking these works. About Retired Mercenaries The mercenaries sold on the Marketplace have been released in "seasons". This means they are available to purchase for a limited time. If you already have the token to hire a retired mercenary when it is retired or already redeemed the token, you can still hire the mercenary. It's just not available for new players to purchase. On occasion, the retired mercenaries may be added to the Marketplace again for a limited time, most commonly in the summer, close to the Scorched Sky live event. See the Mercenary Crates page (even if you have a single token) for more details, as they can also be sold for status points. Selling Excess Tokens for Status Mercenaries purchased from the marketplace that you have a token for but don't want or need are a great way to earn status for your guild. Visit Sneerio Backlash (a shady merchant) on the first floor of the Rogues Gallery to see what a token is worth in status if you sell the token instead of hiring the mercenary. *Mercenary tokens that are part of premium expansions perks, granted to veterans, or otherwise "gifted" as a reward can not be sold for status points. *Once you consume the coin to unlock a mercenary, you can not sell it to a status merchant. *You will not know how common or rare a Mercenary Crate's contents are until after you've unpacked them. :*After they are opened the item flag changes from Heirloom to No-Trade, so you must use the token on that character or sell them to Sneerio. Mercenary Status Point Value All mercenaries have a status point value that is tied to their rarity. The less likely you are to get a mercenary when opening any mercenary crate, the more more valuable they will be if you decide to sell them to Sneerio Backlash. Status Point value by rarity are as follows: *Common - 1,000,000 *Uncommon - 3,000,000 *Rare - 6,000,000 *Ultra Rare - 10,000,000 See the Mercenaries page or the individual mercenary pages for their value. Picking a Mercenary New or returning players often ask which mercenary is "the best". The short answer is that it depends on several factors, like your character's abilities, the intended use, and your playstyle. For example, a lower level shadowknight working on solo quests will have very different needs than a max-level fury joining guild mates for a difficult dungeon. Stop by the Tips, Tricks, Faq and New Player Discussion official forum for suggestions, but understand it may also come down to personal preference in the end. It can help to start by hiring some of the easy-to obtain mercenaries (covered later) to get a feel for how they operate first. More Mercenaries have been added to the game since they were introduced. They have been given as a perk for buying specific game expansions, made available in-game and through the Marketplace in "seasons". In general though, most players have grouped with at least one other (player) class that suits their playstyle well, so it can be fun to hire and see how well some of the mercenary classes of a similar type might work for your needs. The section below explains the mercenary classes. See the hiring section for details. Mercenary Classes Mercenaries have their own classes that closely mimic those players can create, however, they are not a direct match but adjacent or similar to player-created classes. Put another way, mercenaries may have spells you recognize if you've played several classes, but may lack others and/or have their own unique mix because they have fewer spells and combat arts than player classes, no matter how powerful they may be overall. You can usually discern their classes in the tag under each mercenaries name when you go to hire them or deduce their class by looking at their abilities when you hail them to hire (explained in a section below). Likewise, there are some mercenaries that may have a mystery class or unique class. Looking at their abilities will give you a good sense of their skills, for this reason, the common classes are described here. :A good approximation of the most common class archetypes is as follows: *'Archon' is similar to the Priest classes *'Songspinner' is similar to the Scout classes *'Martial' is similar to the Brawler classes *'Crusader' is similar to Crusader classes *'Mindbender' is similar to the Mage classes *'Mindblaster' is similar to the Enchanter classes *'Stormcaller' is similar to the Druid classes Again, the above is not a complete list because some have their own unique tags. For example, Gigglegibber Thief is a Thief Mercenary, but hailing him you would see that he essentially a Brigand, which is a type of Scout. :See the Mercenary by Class category page for those with pages on the wiki. Paying Upkeep } |- |21 - 30 | |- |31 - 40 | |- |41 - 50 | |- |51 - 60 | |- |61 - 70 | |- |71 - 80 | |- |81 - 100 | |} Before jumping in to how to find and hire mercenaries, understand that they have a nominal in-game currency to maintain while they are active, and to rehire. The cost is taken from your coin, but suspends if you dismiss them. Likewise, if a player is inactive for a period of time, the mercenary must be rehired. :See the official update notes for the above changes. Typical upkeep is shown in the table. Some special mercenaries may have a higher upkeep or this mechanic may change. The mercenary will charge you an upkeep fee every 30 minutes, this amount is increased as you level up. For example, the level 90 upkeep fee is or per 30 minutes or on a respawn, after the mercenary is killed, depending on if the mercenary is standard or not. Once you dismiss the mercenary you must also pay the upkeep fee to bring them back or use the Marketplace to buy a "Hire Anywhere" unlock for the mercenary. This feature unlock is accessed from the Mercenary tab of the Character window. Open the tab and click the Hire Anywhere button (looks like a green +) next to the name of mercenaries you previously "met" out in the world and hired. The option to "hire anywhere" after you've located the hard-to-find mercenaries that roam will save you from traveling to hire them again later. Suspending a mercenary essentially hides one you intend to summon again later if/when you resume combat. Unlike dismissing them, you do not have to unlock this ability. This mechanic exists to avoid unnecessarily paying them when you don't need their help and the game will auto-suspend them if they die in combat or if you are logged in and inactive for a long period. See the Summon and Suspend section for details on how this is done. Hiring Mercenaries To hire a mercenary the first time you will have to meet him/her/it at a specific location. After you hail them, a window will open that shows all of their abilities, which should give you a good sense if they may be a good match. See the Mercenary Classes section above for a general sense of how they differ from player-created classes. :The following factors may effect your choice as well: *Only one mercenary can be active at the time. When you want to hire a Merc keep in mind that some are: *Always at a default location *Always at a default location, but need an item obtained in order to see them *Spawn at several possible locations and times in a zone *If your mercenary is inactive after awhile, they will be suspended, but you can call them back using the character sheet (described below), but if you hire a different mercenary, you will need to travel back to the old one's location. :*To get around this, you can buy an optional Hire Anywhere unlock from the Marketplace so you don't have to travel back to some locations. The Hire Anywhere just allows you to switch between several mercenaries easily, it does not allow you to skip the going to the location (etc.) and hiring them for the first time. Locations There are many location, but players unfamiliar with this game mechanic may want to start with the free-to-hire and low-cost (in game currency) to maintain, easy-access original mercenaries, which loiter near or in the following locations: *In Freeport at Seafarer's Roost at *In Qeynos Capitol District at Fish's Alehouse and Inn at :*Additional original mercenaries are found in other player cities, but the above provides the most variety when experimenting. Because this is a huge, complex topic and they can be found in many locations, a few pages offer focused info. :For details on specific mercenaries see: *The Mercenaries page focuses on all of the original mercenaries, as well as, those that can be hired by encountering them or by "looting" them as drops related to specific game expansions. *If you purchased the mercenary from the Marketplace, see the Mercenary Crates page for specifics about hiring and selling the tokens. :*The Rogues Gallery page has details about locating purchased in the maze-like instance associated with the seasonal Mercenary Crates or live event-themed mercenaries from Frostfell. Mercenary User Interface Basics The main way you will command the mercenary after they are hired and when you want to go into combat is through a tiny window that lists their health and power and some basic command explained in the Mechanics section. An image of this window is also shown near that section. Slash commands that work are also explained later on. The main window that you will interact with is found embedded in your character sheet (press C') and accessed by clicking on the tab for Mercenaries listed on the left side of the window. By interacting with the various colorful icons and buttons in this tab, you can see the various abilities of your active merc, their stats (to the far right of the tab), add gear for appearance and combat (for most), change the name of common mercs, and train them (see the expansion and account restrictions in the Overview section). Details on how to use this window are covered in detail further in this article. Seeing Stats and Rehire You can see your hired mercenaries in your Character (persona) window by pressing C and clicking on the Mercenary Tab *Only one mercenary can be active at the time. Most of the mercenaries are shown as "Restricted" or locked in the persona window, which means you have to travel back to the mercenary's hire location to meet the merc to re-hire. *On occasion, you will see the "Restricted" flag. Any mercs listed below this flag must be rehired from their "home" location. *It is possible to unlock a Restricted mercenary, which allows you to summon him/her/it anywhere in Norrath for 150 DBC. Training and Gear :''See the Overview section for the purchase requirements to use these features. To do this you need to: #Press '''C to open the character sheet #Click on the Mercenary tab on the left side of the character sheet. #Summon the mercenary you want to train or add gear to, by clicking on the green icon (box with a person outline) near the top of the window. #Once the the mercenary is summoned the window will shift and a larger blue icon with a person on it will appear near the top. Click the large blue icon to open the detailed information about the mercenary's abilities (shown at the bottom of the window), as well as, the icons to toggle to access either their Appearance (just for looks) gear and the Equipment that can effect their performance. Between the gear slots and theor abilities you will see a Training "button" that can be clicked to start the training process. :Note that the merc's stats are shown are the far right of this window as well, which may help you assess if this mercenary is "right for the job," before you start a particular quest. Training is passive and once you begin, the window will change to tell you how many (real world) days you must wait to start the next round of training by repeating the process. Like upgrading your character's abilities through Research, the timer for this training continues even if you are offline. Training Timeframe When training a mercenary, a timer will automatically count down before they reach that level. The higher the level, the more days it takes. The timer starts at three days and adds two days to the wait every day thereafter. :You can expand the table below to see specific levels and the days it should take each time you start that level. *'*'''10-11 was changed to 10 days. This info and numbers may need to be verified. *With the Kunark Ascending Expansion, it is possible to train a mercenary to a maximum level of 5, which takes 24 days per mercenary. *With the Planes of Power Expansion, it is possible to train a mercenary to a maximum level of 10, which takes 99 days per mercenary. *With the Chaos Descending Expansion, it is possible to train a mercenary to a maximum level of 20, which takes 399 days per mercenary. Gear Some mercenaries can also wear appearance gear (e.g. weapons) even without Kunark Ascending Expansion. The gear described in this section is purely for stats and has no appearance though. *Mercenaries can get a bit more dps and survive longer with better gear. *Mercenary-specific gear has the tag "MERC-ONLY" on them or use the accolade slot. :*Mercenaries can also wear ''regular armor in the available slots, not just that flagged for mercs. mercenaries can wear as many relics as desired. *Mercenary armor also has an effect on unlisted stats such as casting speed and recast. The effect is seen in the spell tooltips. *White, purple, etc. runes don't seem to work for mercenaries. Gear Slots by Mercenary Level The following gear unlocks occur as your merc levels, with only Accolades (stat bonuses, similar to Adornments) added every two levels after they attain level 12. You can identify the levels the slots will unlock by opening the gear interface of your mercenary tab inside the character sheet; the levels actually appear over the slots that are still locked. For example, hands unlock at level 6 and you'll see a large 6 appears over the hand slot while it is still locked. Locating the gear slots is covered in detail in the Training and Gear section above. Mechanics There are many mercenaries to choose from. This section describes the general use of both Behaviors and Commands. To learn about choosing mercenaries based on their abilities, see the section at the beginning of this article. As soon as you hire a mercenary, the Behaviors window will open. This small window is used to set automatic behaviors and to command them as needed. The window can be full size or shrunken to take less screen space up, after you set the basic behaviors. See the images for Jennis Proudhilt (full size window) and Stamper Jeralf (shrunken window) so the following sections are easy to understand. Suspend and Summon If you no longer need the aid of a mercenary, you can suspend them. Suspending them will simply hide them until you are ready to summon them again. Summoning is not the same as hiring them. Unlike the need to re-hire, which means you may have to travel back to their location, summoning them is simple and it can be done from anywhere. *To suspend them, click on the red button under their name in the Mercenary tab of your Character sheet (press C). *To summon them again, click on the green button under their name in the Mercenary tab. *If your character is inactive (e.g. you left the room to take a phone call) their mercenary will automatically suspend. This mechanic keeps them from draining your coin if you are occupied longer than expected or if you go offline unexpectedly and your character remains in-game for some time. *If you manually suspend the mercenary, the suspend timer is 1 minute. This just means you'll have to wait 1 minute to summon them again. *Each time you summon or resume your mercenary, you will pay the upkeep. See the table below for (typed) slash commands. Behaviors and Commands You can set specific behaviors for your mercenary to automatically carry out using the drop-down arrows next to your name in the behaviors window. This includes "telling" them to Follow, Protect, or Assist. A mercenary counts as one member of any group you form and all of these behaviors can also be directed at anyone you group with instead. In addition, you can set it to None which means they are passive. *'Follow' means they will trail behind the selected player. This makes a difference when grouped if you would rather they stay back or follow someone else closely. *'Protect' means they will attack anything near enough the selected player to become a threat. *'Assist' means they will assist the selected player in combat, but not initiate it. This is similar to group members targeting an enemy through a tank class so that the group is not overwhelmed with several enemies at once. If you find you are in an area that is tight with enemies it can be helpful to select None or switch the Behaviors to Assist. See the table below for (typed) slash commands. Commands You can see your mercenary's basic stats (health, power, etc.) and give them some commands using the Behaviors mini-window for actions that opens when you hire or rehire (summon) them. See the example of Stamper Jerlaf's window above and to the right. To see all of their combat abilities or spells (e.g. Mercenary's Resolve, Bash, etc.), follow the directions described in the Training and Gear section and locate the abilities icons near the bottom of the window used to add gear and train them. The actions you'll find in the mini-window are fairly self explanatory and include: Slash Commands You can also give your mercenary slash commands using their abilities. This is similar to the commands used for classes with combat pets. but there are three additional options for mercs. Combat Tips The following are the ideal Behavior settings based on the mercenary type in a group. *When using a Ranger-style mercenary with tracking: right click on them; it will allow you to use their tracking skill. *Set the mercenary to Protect: None and Assist: None if you are in an area with lots of enemies or where the respawn rate is high to avoid constant attacks. *If you realize you need to break combat because your mercenary is far behind you, fighting yet another enemy after you are ready to go, click on the Back Off (green command) button. This is sometimes necessary if you are low on energy and trying to back off long enough to refill your character's bar for power. Mercenary Confidence Mercenaries have a Confidence mechanic. Mercenaries will fight for you, but the pay isn’t necessarily worth dying for! If too many (or too powerful) enemies are hitting your hired mercenary, the mercenary will cower and lose much effectiveness until the situation changes. Tank mercenaries have a higher Confidence than non-fighter mercenaries. Although mercenaries who have lost Confidence appear to stop all other actions and just stand there cowering, in actuality they don’t stop fighting, healing, or curing. Instead their effectiveness is reduced, with Potency being most affected. Mercenary Types This guide only describes the general types and differences between various mercenaries. *''See the Mercenaries page for details about names, classes, status point values, and other relevant info.'' *''See the Rogues Gallery page if you purchased a Marketplace contract and want to learn how to locate those mercs to hire.'' Original Mercenaries The original mercenaries are the easiest to obtain and maintain. New and returning players may want to start with these due to the easy access and low cost to maintain them, before going off to seek new or more difficult to obtain mercenaries. These small zones are located in the pubs of each alignment's city. Some mercenaries are found loitering in the pubs, but a door can be clicked on to find even more. *Freeport (Seafarer's Roost in East Freeport. The door to enter is at *Qeynos (Basement of Fish's Alehouse and Inn, Qeynos Harbor The original mercenaries that were introduced are specific characters found exclusively in Freeport and Qeynos Province District, but it is possible to sneak into other cities and hire their mercenaries. Once you have hired "foreign" mercenaries, they will appear also in your alignment's Mercenary Den. Additional, easy-to-hire mercenaries can be found in the player cities of Gorowyn, Kelethin, Neriak, and New Halas--all near their pub areas. There are just a few in those cities, so new players may want to visit Freeport or Qeynos and hire there first. :See the Mercenaries page for specific names and for links to each merc's specific location, abilities, and appearance. Elite Mercenaries Elite mercenaries are rare and more powerful. The elite mercenaries roam the world until hired, after which that mercenary will despawn for a while from the world, so there will be gaps between players being able to find them. Elite mercenaries are more expensive than normal mercenaries. They cost upkeep every 30 minutes (at level 90-95). All their spells are mastered, and they do not return to start locations like the rest of the normal mercenaries when dismissed. The re-summon timer for elite mercenaries used to be 5 minutes, but this was changed to 1 minute with the December 17, 2013 patch. Reported locations for the various elite mercenaries below is on their individual pages. :See the Mercenaries page for specific names and for links to each merc's specific location, abilities, and appearance. Marketplace Mercenaries These are sold via the Marketplace and come in a varying degree of styles and classes. Players who buy a one are awarded a random mercenary from the mix that is offered. See the Mercenary Crates page for details about this type (even if you have or want to buy only one). Looted Mercenaries These mercenaries can be unlocked by finding their contract as a drop in certain zones/expansions. Skyshrine The Ancient Mercenaries have bonuses when used within Skyshrine. Ancient Mercenaries cost upkeep every 30 minutes (at level 90). To hire an Ancient Mercenary, you must complete the following requirement: *Have enough faction to go to Skyshrine: The Forbidden City of Dracur via the portal in Skyshrine at (10,000 Claws of Veeshan faction required). *Have completed To Speak as a Dragon quest. *In order to get the key that will unlock the mercenaries, you need to defeat Dozekar in the quest Revelations in the Temple, which is the final quest in a series that begins in Skyshrine: The City of Dracur. Speak to to begin the Revelations in the Temple. After you kill Dozekar, turn in your quest to receive the key. Return to the starting zone in Skyshrine and use the portal to Skyshrine: The Forbidden City of Dracur (-29.59, -0.41, -7.17). In one of three zones there you will find and be able to unlock your mercenary. :See the Mercenaries page for specific names and for links to each merc's specific location, abilities, and appearance. Expansion and Live Update Related Some mercenaries are unlocked by going to instances related to specific expansions, defeating enemies in instances, and looting the tokens used to unlocked them. :The following expansions all introduced new mercenaries: *Chains of Eternity *Tears of Veeshan *Altar of Malice :The following may have mercenaries (please confirm and remove this note) *Terrors of Thalumbra *Kunark Ascending :See the Mercenaries page for specific names and for links to each merc's specific location, abilities, and appearance. Quest Related Unlocks *The Mercenary: Zhugrus Blightstaff is rewarded for completing the achievement Exploring the Scourge Wastes (Solo) in The Siege of Zek. Tradeskill Mercenaries Those who enjoy tradeskill quests are able to unlock tradeskill-themed mercenaries. These are all tied to completing complex quest series, like the quest series for Raffik or the entire Kunark Ascending Timeline for Growf. Live Event Mercenaries These Mercenaries are only available for initial hire during the respective Live Events. For example, you can hire Gigglegibber Thief only during Bristlebane Day or Tik-Tank Mk III only during Tinkerfest. :See the Mercenaries page for specific names and for links to each merc's specific location, abilities, and appearance. Mercenary Statistics Wondering how different one mercenary is from the next? See the Mercenary Stat Comparisons page. Related Topics The following topics were mentioned in the article above, but some readers may now want to jump to specific pages. *Mercenaries - a list of several mercenaries with brief summaries on how to obtain them. *Mercenary Crates - deals with the purchase of mercenaries from the marketplace, as well as selling them for status points. *Rogues Gallery - mentioned above, this page has info to on where to enter and how to navigate the zone in which mercenaries described on this page (from crates) are hired. Credits Category:EQ2U Credits Category:User Guides